The Internet, cellular communication systems, television, newspaper, etc., provide diverse communication media channels through which people may receive information and/or communicate with one another.
For example, people may use a website to chronologically publish personal thoughts and web links. Such a web site may be referred to as a blog. Another website may be used to search for information (e.g., Google's search website). Yet other websites may be used for interacting with online social networks (e.g., Facebook's social website).
When a user interacts with one of the foregoing websites, or others, using a user terminal or user device (e.g., a laptop computer or an iPhone telecommunication device), advertisements (sometimes referred to herein as simply “ads”) are often presented for display to the user. These ads are sometimes presented in response to a user request (e.g., a search request), and in other cases are presented even without any particular request or action by the user (e.g., an ad presented when an webpage is first loaded onto a user's device).
Advertisements may also be presented to users (e.g., potential customers) that communicate using other forms of media. In addition to websites, users may receive information and communicate, for example, via cellular phones or other mobile devices, television or video devices, and even through traditional print media (e.g., where the user is a reader of the print media, and then later takes an action online using information found in the print media).
Publishers of the various foregoing forms of media often make decisions to select particular ads for particular users or readers. A publisher usually selects ads that will be most effective for attracting business from the user to the service or product provider that has sponsored an advertisement accompanying or presented during the user's interaction on or with the media.